AT&T/T-Mobile Deal Revival Possible, But is Still 'One Foot in the Grave'

Previously, we reported that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger could be dead because AT&T revoked its application to the FCC in order to instead focus their resources to fight the impending anti-trust lawsuit from the Justice Department against the deal. The Department of Justice sued aug. 31, claiming that the "combination of the No. 2 and No. 4 cellphone companies in the country would reduce competition and lead to higher prices for consumers."

In a surprise twist, the DoJ indicated Friday that it will withdraw or postpone its antitrust case against the merger. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joe Wayland, representing the DoJ in this matter, told U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, that the merger "isn't even a real transaction" without their application to the FCC, so the DoJ would postpone their case until AT&T/T-Mobile refile. Huvelle gave the government until Tuesday to file a motion to put off the case.

This could leave the door open for AT&T/T-Mobile to refile their FCC application and start the process all over again; however, even the judge in their case is starting to look unfavorably on the deal. She implied that AT&T and T-Mobile were stalling and playing games with the court by withdrawing their FCC application. Here's a quote from the Yahoo! article with some details,

Huvelle told AT&T she was concerned the company was "using" the court and wasting its time. "I have some responsibility to the taxpayers ... to make sure we aren't being used in a way we weren't intended," Huvelle said.

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AT&T attorney Mark Hansen, countered, saying that it AT&T did not start the court battle. Here's a quote from the Yahoo! article with final details,

Hansen said it didn't make sense to have both the FCC and the court trying to rule on the merger at the same time, so the companies decided to proceed first with the trial that's already been scheduled.

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